BTS RELEASES FEBRUARY 2012 U.S. AIRLINE TRAFFIC DATA

 

System Passengers Down 1.2% from February 2012  The U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines carried 52.5 million scheduled systemwide passengers in February 2013, 1.2 percent less than in February 2012. The systemwide decrease was the result of a 1.5 percent decrease in the number of domestic passengers (45.7 million) and a 0.7 percent increase in international passengers (6.8 million).    BTS, a part of the Department's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that U.S. airlines carried 0.2 percent more total system (domestic + international) passengers during the first two months of 2013 (107.8 million) than during the same period in 2012. Domestically, U.S. airlines carried 93.5 million passengers, unchanged from 2012. Internationally, they carried 14.3 million passengers, up 1.6 percent from 2012. See Tables 2, 8 and 14 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data.  The system load factor of 79.2 percent, the domestic load factor of 81.0 percent and the international load factor of 75.8 percent were record highs for the month of February.  Load Factor and Capacity  The February system and domestic load factor records topped the previous highs set in February 2012 following year-to-year capacity cuts for both system (-3.2 percent) and domestic (-2.6 percent). In February, for the third consecutive month, international capacity declined from the same month of the previous year. The capacity decline combined with an RPM increase from February 2012 resulted in a record international load factor for the month of February, surpassing the previous high set in February 2010. Load factor is a measure of the use of aircraft capacity that compares RPMs as a proportion of ASMs. See Tables 1, 7 and 13 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data.  Top Airlines  In February, Delta Air Lines carried more system passengers than any other U.S. airline.  Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers. United Airlines carried the most international passengers. The top 10 U.S. airlines in terms of number of passengers carried 80.4 percent of systemwide passengers, up from 79.7 percent carried by the U.S. airlines that were in the top 10 in February 2012. See Air Traffic Release for summary tables and additional data. Additional traffic data can be found on the BTS Airlines and Airports page.  Click on a link in the Quick Links box on the right.  For more historical data, see Traffic on the BTS website.